The Cleveland Cavaliers had to get through a pesky Toronto Raptors team last season on their way to the NBA title. If they have any plans to repeat, they will need to do it again. The teams will face off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Game 1 checking in from Cleveland.
It was a bumpy regular season for the Cavs, who finished surprisingly with the No. 2 seed in the East, but they looked solid in the opening round against the Pacers. Toronto had to rally to knock off the Bucks but hopes to push the Cavs in this series.
Cleveland is favored to win this series and will be the team to beat in Game 1 since it is playing at home.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, May 1, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Monday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Cavaliers are listed as 7-point favorites in Game 1. They are -320 to win this game on the moneyline while the Raptors are the +260 underdogs. The scoring total is set at 208.5 points.
Cleveland is 55-31 straight up and 37-46-3 against the spread on the season. The Cavaliers have played in 43 home games this season, covering in 19 of them while pushing twice. Cleveland is 32-36-3 against the spread as the favorite on the season.
The Raptors are 55-33 straight up and 47-39-2 against the spread. Toronto is 25-18-1 against the spread as the road team. The Raptors have have played in 23 games as the underdog this season, covering in 13 of them and pushing once.
Season Series
The Cavaliers got the better of the Raptors in the regular season, capturing three of the four contests. The only matchup Toronto pulled out was the last game of the regular season when they went to Cleveland and won, 98-93. However, nothing predictive can come from that one as the Cavaliers rested stars Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love.
The teams first faced off on October 28 and Cleveland won 94-91 on the road. Irving had 26 points to lead the way in that one while James added 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Cavaliers’ next victory came on November 15 as they held on for a 121-117 home win. James was dominant in that one with 28 points and 15 assists.
Cleveland’s most recent victory came in Toronto by a score of 116-112 on December 5. James had 34 in that one. Even though the Cavaliers went 3-1 against the Raptors in the regular season, they didn’t win any of the games by seven points or more, which is the spread set for the first game.
Player To Watch
DeMar DeRozan -- The Cavaliers have their star trio, and the presence of James makes them the favorites in this game and the series. Toronto can make it competitive as long as its star backcourt plays well.
Kyle Lowry is steady and should have a nice series, but much will come down to the play of DeRozan. He started slowly against Milwaukee but ended the series averaging 23.5 points per game while adding 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
DeRozan may need to score even more against the Cavaliers as he is the main option for Toronto and must be able to keep up against a team with a lot of firepower.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Cavaliers have the bigger stars and will play at home, so clearly everyone expects them to win. However, don’t discount the underdog Raptors. Between Lowry, DeRozan and Serge Ibaka, Toronto has some solid headliners and the team has been among the East’s best the past couple of years.
Cleveland should be able to squeak this one out at the end, but Toronto is going to make it tough. Take the Raptors to cover the spread, while the “over” is the better choice on the scoring total.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 107, Raptors 104
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